Shy

Chapter 19

          HUUUUUUUH??!?!?

The usual screams emitted from the gymnasium during the boys' volleyball club practice. Nishinoya looked at Tanaka in confusion. Practice had ended and it had been quite some time since Tsukiko last went to one of their practices, so the libero took a moment to ask his fellow second-year what the situation was on his "future girlfriend."

"What do you mean you've never called her before?!?!" He shouted. "J-Just that! We've texted before though..." Tanaka responded sheepishly, cupping the back of his neck with one hand.

"Ryu!! You're passing up a golden opportunity here!" It seemed like he'd been getting a lot of those. Maybe Nishinoya was right? Should he try calling her instead of just texting?

"Listen! Talking to her in person is one thing, but it's completely different hearing a girl over the phone!" Nishinoya wrapped his arms around himself, almost shivering with pleasure. "It has a completely different appeal! I mean, come on! Her voice is pressed right up against your ear! Isn't that kind of se—" SMACK!

"Don't be giving him any weird ideas, Nishinoya. He gets enough of those by himself already." Sugawara chastised him, letting his hand linger on the boy's head in the chopping motion for good measure.

"Owww...but if you have her number already, good job!" The libero quickly recovered. Sugawara joined in, "Yeah, it's good that you have her number, but what's stopping you from calling her?" By now, the other members joined in on the conversation. Even Tsukishima was listening, albeit all the way to the side of the gym. He wouldn't pass up juicy information to make fun of the second-year, but he definitely wouldn't make himself appear interested in his troubling love life.

"U-Uh...Well...there's just been no reason too...I guess...?" He quickly added on "I-I want to! But I don't want to trouble her if I don't have a reason to call her..." Everyone looked at him with fascination. This guy, who was probably the loudest of all of them – This guy, who took his shirt off whenever he got too excited with a spike, which was lot – This guy, who looked like an idiot whenever he was trying to "intimidate" their opponents – This guy, was acting like this towards that girl?

"Wow...Sorry Tanaka, I just didn't think you could be so...sensitive..." Asahi was the first to voice their surprise. Of course, it's not like they thought that Tanaka couldn't be compassionate. If anything, he was one of the team's biggest morale boosters, never letting anybody feel down on themselves for a misplay.

It's just that, even when he did cheer them up, he would always be straightforward about it and always just spoke what was on his mind. Hearing him be so...passive was a little shocking.

"If you wanna call her, just call her!!" It was just like Nishinoya to just do whatever he felt like. Following along for once, Kageyama asked, "If she gave you her number, then wouldn't she expect you to call her?"

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"EHHHH?!? Y-You really think so?!?" How could Tanaka have missed this?! All this time, she actually wanted him to call her? But then, why hadn't she called him? Could she possibly be feeling the same things he was?

As logical as Kageyama's reasoning was, Sugawara and Daichi couldn't just let Tanaka's mind wander off to whatever he wanted. "W-Well, it's true that she wouldn't give her number to you if she didn't want any contact from you, but you should treat this delicately!"

Daichi backed him up, "Right! Maybe she's the type of person that doesn't use phones too often, or maybe she only prefers te—"

"Ah! There she is! Kita Tsukiko was her name, right?" Click

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It took some time for Tanaka to realize that it was his phone in Nishinoya's grip. "AHHHHH!! Noya-san, what the hell!?!" He dashed for the phone, but Nishinoya's reflexes were good enough to dodge him and run around.

"Hellooooo~~~!!" Tanaka and the others faintly heard the voice on the phone, but it certainly wasn't Tsukiko's voice. Even Nishinoya was confused. Maybe he clicked on the wrong contact? Still running from Tanaka, he proceeded to put the phone on speaker and asked, "Is this Kita Tsukiko's phone?"

"Ah! This is her mother speaking~! How may I help you Tanaka-kun~!" Tsukiko's mother had never actually met Tanaka, so it was obvious that she wouldn't know what his voice sounded like. Still, Tanaka blushed at the fact that she knew who he was, if even only a little.

"Actually, this is his friend, Yuu, speaking! He wasn't man enough to call Kita-san, so I'm doing it for him! Is your daughter free this Sunday?" Oh no. Tanaka knew exactly where this was heading and tried picking up the pace to catch up to him. Unfortunately, because of the libero's height, he was able to run and duck under and over the other team members, completely avoiding Tanaka.

"Oh, yes! She is very much free!" "Great! Then how about they have a date at the nearby shopping plaza? They can meet at the big fountain at 12!" The rest of the team heard loud squeals coming from the phone.

"Oh my! A date already! My little girl really has grown up! I'll be sure to have Tsukiko ready for Sunday! Thanks, Yuu-kun~~!" The call ended abruptly. Finally, Nishinoya stopped running and Tanaka caught up to him.

Severely tired out after straining himself so much, especially after a full-length practice, Tanaka was supporting himself with his hands on his knees while panting. Nishinoya took one of his hands and plopped the phone into it. "Here you go!" He shined an innocent, full, closed-eyes smile, seemingly proud of his achievement.

Tanaka looked at him in horror and so did many of the other members. Nishinoya realized nobody was saying anything and opened his eyes.

"...What?"

"Nishinoya!! You can't just do that all of a sudden!!" Sugawara was the first to snap out of it. "You're wild, Nishinoya, but that doesn't mean you can pull somebody else into your recklessness!" Daichi chided as well.

"Ahhh!! Tanaka, hang in there!!" Asahi was holding Tanaka in his arms. The wing spiker seemed to have fainted with his eyes rolled to the back of his head, his skin as pale as a ghost's, and his soul leaving his body through his mouth.

"Water!! Somebody bring some water!"

"Call an ambulance!"

"NISHINOYA!!!"

"Ha ha! He'll thank me for this when he wakes up! I'm such a good friend! :D"

Meanwhile, in the Kita household, shouting was also heard, but it was closer to shouts of excitement.

"I-Is everything alright, mother?" Kita walked into her own room with her hair still wet from her recent bath.

"Oh, my darling daughter, of course everything is alright! In fact, everything is better than alright! Mama has secured you a date with your future boyfriend on Sunday~~! We need to pick your outfit right away – oh and your makeup – and your accessories! Wee~!" Her mother scampered around the room, looking for matching things for her daughter to wear.

"W-Wait!! A-A date?!? F-Future b-b-boyfriend?? W-What are you t-talking about?? W-With who?!?" Tsukiko was trying her hardest to follow her mother, but the news was just too surprising.

"Why, with that boy Tanaka, of course!" She stated as if it were a matter of fact. "T-T-Tanaka-S-Senpai?!?!?" The first-year screeched. Her face was already warm and red from the heat of the bath, but the extra warmth was unbearable. Sadly, this color did not last.

"Yes! This is it!" Her mother lifted up a bag. "This would go perfectly with that sk—" THUMP

"Tsukiko!??" She rushed over to her daughter. The poor girl seemed to have fainted with her skin as white as snow and her soul leaving her body through her mouth.

Her father's bellows could be heard, "WHAT DID YOU DO TO MY LITTLE TSU-CHAN?!?!"